liberty baptist theological seminary an examination of the doctrine of death and the afterlife from a

145 Pages·2015·1.3 MB·English

by  Patton, Wayne Allen

LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
AN EXAMINATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF DEATH AND THE AFTERLIFE FROM A
BIBLICAL AND HISTORICAL THEOLOGY PERSPECTIVE COMPARED TO THE LEVEL
OF SOPHISTICATION AMONG THE LAITY.
A Thesis Project Submitted to
Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY
By
Wayne Allen Patton
Lynchburg, Virginia
April 2015
Copyright © 2015 by Wayne A. Patton
All Rights Reserved
LIBERTY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

THESIS PROJECT APPROVAL SHEET

______________________________
GRADE

______________________________
Dr. Rick Rasberry, Mentor

______________________________
Dr. Leo Percer, Reader
ABSTRACT

AN EXAMINATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF DEATH AND THE AFTERLIFE FROM A
BIBLICAL AND HISTORICAL THEOLOGY PERSPECTIVE COMPARED TO THE LEVEL
OF SOPHISTICATION AMONG THE LAITY.

Wayne A. Patton
Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, 2013
Mentor: Dr. Rick Rasberry

Several key aspects of eschatology and their treatment appear to be under-explored in
contemporary preaching. Within the context of individual eschatology, notions of death, the
intermediate state, and the eternal state vary widely. A clearer understanding of these facets of
the faith are necessary to fully understand the full measure of the work of Christ, the hope
Christians have in Him, and the ability to convey these essentials to the lost. In this project, the
writer will seek to discover and examine the key aspects of this doctrine and measure the level of
sophistication among a sample of the laity. The measurement will be conducted via a
confidential online survey of professing believers. At a practical level the goal of the project is
that both pastors and laity would be edified on the central issues of the doctrine and that per its
content pastors could utilize the data to craft sermons and lessons that take into consideration the
identified weaknesses in knowledge as expressed by the participants.

Abstract Length: 167 Words
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................1
Statement of the Problem ..............................................................................................3
Statement of Importance of the Problem (Theoretical Basis for the Project) ...............6
Statement Limitations ...................................................................................................9
Statement of Methodology ............................................................................................11
Literature Review..........................................................................................................16
CHAPTER II—THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE AFTERLIFE ...................................22
Death and the Afterlife in the Ancient Near East .........................................................24
The Greeks ....................................................................................................................25
Ancient Egypt ..............................................................................................................27
Mesopotamians .............................................................................................................31
Ancient Israel ................................................................................................................36
Sheol .............................................................................................................................38
Is Sheol a Place Only for the Wicked? .........................................................................42
Are Sheol and Hell the Same Place?.............................................................................45
Resurrection is Ancient Israel .......................................................................................48
Conclusion of Chapter Two ..........................................................................................52
CHAPTER III — THE INTERTESTEMENTAL PERIOD AND NEW TESTAMENT .....54
Intertestamental Period .................................................................................................54
The New Testament ......................................................................................................60
Bodily Resurrection in the Gospels and Teachings of Jesus ........................................62
Bodily Resurrection in the Pauline Epistles..................................................................66
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The Righteous and the Wicked Resurrected .................................................................70
The Intermediate State ..................................................................................................72
Conclusion of Chapter Three ........................................................................................82
CHAPTER IV —THE DOCTRINE OF THE AFTERLIFE IN THE CHURCH ERA ........85
The Intermediate State: Purgatory and Paradise ...........................................................86
The Final State of the Wicked ......................................................................................97
Orthodox Position of the Fate of the Unsaved ..............................................................98
Hell, Hades, Gehenna, Lake of Fire .............................................................................101
Annihilationism ............................................................................................................107
Universalism .................................................................................................................110
Conclusion of Chapter Four ..........................................................................................112
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................114
The Final State of the Righteous in Christ.......................................................................114
Various Demographics .................................................................................................117
The Role of the Church .................................................................................................121
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................126
APPENDIX A DEATH AND THE AFTERLIFE SURVEY ................................................131
APPENDIX B SURVEY INSTRUCTIONS..........................................................................138
IRB APPROVAL ...................................................................................................................139
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

Death is a profound and complex subject. It is the one universal and undeniable fact of
life irrespective of age, culture, ideology, or belief. And yet it evokes a wide variety of
human responses, whether emotional, physical or material. Variety can be seen not just
across different cultures, but also within any one particular culture. Death is universal,
but reactions to it are distinctive. 1
To the question, “What happens to you when you die?” one will likely get a fairly small
range of answers. There are quite simply not that many options that would come to mind. If that
question is asked in the United States, depending on the person’s faith, or lack thereof, one could
expect hear a variety of responses. Perhaps some people would say that the departed go to
heaven, or that they go to a place of punishment, either temporarily or permanently, i.e.
purgatory or hell. Some may hold a more atheistic perspective and believe that the dead simply
cease to exist, that death is the end of the line, as it were. Given the increasing influence of
Eastern religions, some may hold that the dead will be reincarnated or will become a part of the
universe. There is a good chance that the person will say he simply does not know what lies in
store beyond this present life. Still, data indicates that they do believe in some sort of
continuation of existence after death, and the research also shows that this general belief has held
steady over time, at least in the United States.2 In some instances this trend is actually on the rise
in recent years:
A significantly greater fraction of American adults believe in life after death in the 1990s
than in the 1970s. According to data from the general social survey (hereafter GSS) there

1 Philip Johnston, Shades of Sheol: Death and the Afterlife in the Old Testament (Downers Grove:
InterVarsity Press, 2002), 23.

2 Glenn Firebaugh and Brian Harley, “Americans’ Belief in an Afterlife: Trends Over the Past Two
Decades,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 32, no. 3 (1993): 269-78.

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has been a marked change in some groups beliefs in the life after death all the Protestants
who say they believe in life after death have remained stable at about 85% (very high to
begin with, anyway), Catholics, Jews, and people of no religious affiliation at become
more likely to report beliefs in the afterlife. For instance, the percentage of Catholics
believing in an afterlife rose from 67% to 85% for those born between 1900 and 1970.3
But, as noted, responses would also reflect a variety of beliefs, some of which do not line up with
what the Bible actually teaches on the matter, even among professing Christians.
For most people these attitudes are affected at least partially by religious views, yet even
within the same religion quite different beliefs about death can coexist. For instance,
self-confessed Christians differ over who will be in heaven: whether all of humanity or
all the baptized, or all of those with personal faith in Christ.4
This work will focus upon how professing Christians in the United States answer that question.
Do their answers on this questions line up with what the faith identifies as orthodox? Do their
views line up with what the Bible teaches on the matter? Have extra-biblical concepts and beliefs
worked their way into their understanding of the central and or peripheral items in this doctrine?
This thesis project will seek to measure the laity’s understanding of the relevant issues related to
this doctrine and to measure the level of confidence they have in their professed knowledge of
the related matters. These findings will be compared with the biblical and historical theology of
the applicable facets of individual eschatology. Finally, the ramifications of a lack of
sophistication among the laity regarding the applicable aspects of this doctrine will be
considered, and suggestions will be made of a number of practical steps the church can take to
raise their level of understanding.

3 Alan Segal, Life after Death: A History of the Afterlife in Western Religion (New York: Doubleday,
2004), 8.

4 Johnston, Shades of Sheol, 23.
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Statement of the Problem
Professing Christians have a very low level of sophistication on the key biblical and
theological teachings related to the afterlife. The survey tool for this project, which will be
explained in the methodology sections below, reflected that only 23% of respondents to the
survey claim a high level of understanding on this essential doctrinal matter. Indeed, the study
will show that the self-assessment is correct; only a small percentage seem actually to have a
high level of sophistication.
Table 1:1 On a scale of 1 to 4, how would you classify your level of confidence in
your understanding on doctrinal matters
3% 10%
I know nothing about this doctrinal
23%
matter.
I know very little about this doctrinal
matter.
64%
I have a basic understanding of this
doctrinal matter.
I have a high level of understanding of
this doctrinal matter.

Granted, this problem is understandable to some degree. Clearly, the eschatological
doctrinal items pertinent to death and the afterlife, as they relate to the Christian faith, can be
complicated and difficult to understand. This lack of understanding with the biblical material and
historical theology, compounded with social taboos related to discussing death in general,
shifting social norms on how the church and secular society interact with death and dying, and a
decline in biblical and theological literacy among the populace exacerbate this problem and
hinder edifying discussion. The canon of scripture does not give its readers an abundance of
detail on exactly how the post-mortal existence will unfold. “While the Bible takes death
seriously it does not develop a theology of death. The scene of death is expressed descriptively
(as history), poetically (as lamentation and complaint), theologically (as the outcome of sin) and
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eschatologically (as overcome through the resurrection of Jesus Christ). Yet there is no single
‘theology of death’ to be found as a thematic development.”5 Nevertheless, the Scriptures do
provide quite a bit of clarity on a number of the cornerstone issues related to the afterlife.
To this point, and as this project will explore, there is a notable divide between what the
Old Testament and New Testament reveal on the topic. In sum, one cannot simply begin to read
the scriptures front to back and walk away with one cohesive afterlife narrative. There is also a
contrast between the imagery of the afterlife in the Old Testament versus that found in the New
Testament. The former, by and large, illustrates a virtually meaningless existence, separated from
God, and devoid of activity. Granted this project will show that there are glimpses and hints of
something more, but the overwhelming picture the Old Testament paints is captured by the
author of Ecclesiastes, who observes, “But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a
living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know
nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Their love and their
hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done
under the sun” (Eccl. 9:4-6, ESV). In contrast the New Testament clearly reflects an existence in
the afterlife that is the embodiment of being with God, ruling with God, and perhaps even the
perfection of existence and creation. As in this new age, “No longer will there be anything
accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship
him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more.
They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign
forever and ever” (Rev. 22:3-5, ESV).

5 Ray S. Anderson, Theology, Death, and Dying (Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2012), 38.

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